We are most pleased this month to publish an article that is the product of an unusual if not unprecedented collaboration between the leaders of two of the nation's armed forces. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Mullen and newly installed Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Alien have joined forces on what seems to us to be as much marching orders as magazine piece. Their jointly authored article, "The National Fleet: A Coast Guard-Navy Imperative," maintains that the historic relationship between the Navy and Coast Guard will only get closer in the years ahead through shared missions, technologies, and training.
Important in its own right, we see this article as a continuation of a conversation that began in November 2005 with publication of "The 1,000 Ship Navy: Global Maritime Network," by the CNO's subalterns Vice Admiral John G. Morgan Jr. and Rear Admiral Charles Martoglio. That visionary piece laid out the concept of a global international maritime force in which the seagoing security forces of many nations would work together to contain terrorism, piracy, and related waterborne threats. Admiral Mullen followed up on that article in our January 2006 issue with a thoughtful, colorfully written exposition of the tenets that guide his vision of the 21st-century Navy, in the process embracing the Morgan/Martoglio concept.
Now we have what is in effect the next installment of that conversation, with Admirals Mullen and Allen filling in a major element, the manner in which the Navy and the Coast Guard will operate as part of the 1,000-ship Navy. We are gratified that the admirals-Mullen, Allen, Morgan, and Martoglio-chose to air their views in Proceedings. Providing a forum for senior military and civilian officials, retired as well as active-duty, to discuss issues of national consequence is at the heart of our mission.
But there is more to our mission, notably a willingness to go against the grain of conventional thinking by publishing dissenting views on matters of national security. I believe this is amply demonstrated by other articles in this issue, notably an excerpt from a just-published book by Thomas E. Ricks. Over the past decade, Ricks, military correspondent for the Washington Post and, before that, for the Wall Street Journal, has established himself as among the nation's most respected and insightful journalists. His first book, the well-received Making the Corps, followed a platoon of Marine recruits through boot camp at Parris Island and beyond. Now. in his new book, he turns his sights on a war he views as an epic disaster. Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq is unsparing in its judgments, which are based on extensive interviewing and onthe-ground reportage. Ricks bestows few kudos, but one recipient is U.S. Army Colonel H. R. McMaster, the central figure in our excerpt, whose tactical innovation the author clearly admires.
This issue, our annual Coast Guard issue, also includes the winners of the Coast Guard essay contest, sponsored by Integrated Coast Guard Systems-Deepwater. The first prize winner, Lieutenant (j.g.) Charles West, in "The Three Rs: A New Mission for an Old Coast Guard." insists his service must revisit its core competencies, restructure its force, and revise its acquisition plans.
Retired Navy Captain Stuart Landersmun has written an especially trenchant and provocative piece for this issue, one sure to trigger debate. In "Where Have All the Shiphandlers Gone?," Captain Landersman argues that the shiphandling skills of the Navy's officer corps are eroding. He further insists that such officers can be a menace to themselves and others on the high seas.
Things move quickly around here, so at times we miss something that tells us we're doing something right (we are regularly reminded when we do something wrong). Recently, though, I saw a small newspaper item that said Harvard University had given an "innovations in government" award to the Department of Veterans Affairs electronic health records system. This recalled to me the piece we commissioned and ran in April that reported that the VA medical system, maligned for years and with good reason, had turned the corner and was now among the nation's preeminent hospital systems. We had picked up clues to the transformation and asked veteran journalist Art Pine to determine if our suspicions were accurate or just anecdotal. Art, in as fine a piece as has run in Proceedings in the past year, reported the story and said the resurgence was a reality. It was groundbreaking journalism, a big story that challenged the conventional wisdom on something that mattered and that was so thoroughly reported as to be unassailable. That's the kind of journalism we're committed to providing our readers.